FROM TliE ALBANY KVENING JOURNAL.
Jfarrioyoait/ Costly Living—IncreaKof Finery
anl Decrease of Matrimony— Leap Year
was a Failure.
The statisticians of Boston report that “Leap
Year has been a failure” in the Modern Athens.
There has been twenty per cent, less of marriage
there this year than the last. The fact is by no
means one to be joked over.
Finally, however, the modern Athenian statis
ticians ascribe it to the passions and expenses of
the recent 1‘residentiul election'. They view
wedlock from afar. If they came (]uite up to
the Boston Iljmencal altar they would be in the
way of an explanation of the lamentable fact they
publish. The shrine to Love and Marriage is
crushinply draped with silks at from three dol
lars to fifteen dollars a yard—it is festooned with
laces at prices to cause lock jaw to hear of e.\-
penaive gemmed jewelry flashe.'^ thro’ the meshes
of the point d’Alencon at every part silver
plate, paved thick upon leases of ‘“genteel resi
dences,” supports the altar—and milliners’ bills
for every purchasable luxury and nece.ssary, more
terrible than bills of vuhures, lifts Uie base ol it
as votive leaves to the Krost Spirit circle the oak
in autumn. What effect has this prof;inatioii of
the shrine of Marriage on the young men of Bos
ton, who would fain bring to it their personal
offerings?
Those statisticians can see it and hoar it. The
current of masculine marriageable humanity set.s
right by without stopping. Great sighs heavcil
from tlie bottom of prudent but hopeless hearts,
are all that is given to hymen. Young artists,
young artisans, young doctors, merchants’clerks,
lawyers of more youth than clientage, yet all out
of debt and earning comfortalde and honorable
subsistence foron‘, according to the scale of
pass by quickl3’; alarmed by the evidences oi the
inexorable conditions attached to reputable mar
riage in these evil days of competition and social
display.
Marriage is becoming a luxury to men in the
United States. The cost of provisions, the wages
of labor, the rent of dwellings, the cost of ueecs-
saries and of luxuries, added to the unrelenting
pressure upon people in respectable society to
dress richly and furnish showily, make the ine
vitable price of a family out of reach of the sala
ries and income of most of the young. Of the
effect on the morals and character of a state iu
which wedlock is prohibited, it is unneces.sary to
enlarge. By reading or by travel we are all fa
miliar with it in Trance and in Austria Pru
dence and custom forbid marriage in the former
country, where there is not assured inconio to
maintain its wants and social pretensions. In
the Utter the armed law holds asunder from the
relations cf husband and wife couples who do not
possess property guarantees that their chililren
shall not becoole a burden to the state. In all
ranks of its society income is the marriage cement
of love.
Marriage may as effectually be prohibited by
the expenses of millinery ware and house furn
ishing, as by a police regulation. If those mod
ern Athenian statisticians will stand with their
note books beside their marriage altar for two
years to come, they will have to record a steadily
diminishing worship at the shrine. If old maid-
hood be, as many say, an evil, the penalty of a
general repudiation of cotton drees goods and a
scorn of gingham, will be paid in everj’ house
where there are daughters. Does it not behoove
all mothers—all good mothers—to imitate, indi- '
vidually if not in concert, the wi.se conduct of
Belgic women of Brussels “Upper Ten-dom?” •
Their “Retrenchment Society” has been organ
ized to make economy fashionable. Its weekly
meetings receive reports of superfluities dispensed
with, and discuss the feasibility of further cur
tailments in household and personal expenses, i
Its members are mothers, and these their labors
are for the purpose of saving marriage to their
grown up daughters, by making it practicable
BEWARE 0P» DRIFTING! ] Duration of RailroaJ Iron.—The London Min-
Few people form habits of wrong doing delib- ; ing Journal say.s that the complainu respecting
erately and wilfully. They glide into them by the inferiorquality of recently manufactured rails,
decrees and almost unconsciously, and, before | naturally attributable to the attempts made by
they are aware ofdanger, the habits are confirmed I companies to reduce the price, have attracted
and require resolute and persistent effort to effect i attention both in England and the United btates,
a change. “Resist beginnings” was a maxim ' and have led to some oractical and scientific
of the ancients, and should be preserved as a
landmark in our day. The Baltimore Sun has a
good article on the slight begiunings of danger
which end in fatal ruin:
“It was only the other day that a man fell
asleep in his boat on the Niagara river. During
his .slumber the boat broke loose from her moor- ;
inga, and he woke to find himself shooting down ;
the rapids directly towards the cataract. In vain >
he shrieked for help, in vain he tried to row ;
against the current. lie drifted on and on till ;
his light craft up.set, when he was borne rapidly
to the brink of the abyss, and, leaping up with a j
wild cry, went over and disappeared forever. j
“In the y;reat battle of Gibraltar, when the :
and have led to some practical and
inquiries. On the first introduction of railroads,
it was confidently asserted that the rails would
last for indefinite periods; but experience soon
demonstrated that railway bars were subject to
I lamination and disintegration from the repeated
i rolling of heavy loads. Their duration, in .some
I instances, has not exceeded two or three years;
! and on some of the earliest constructed lines
I in England the rails have V/oen changed twice,
i or even three times since their opening Wtiere
, the conditions are favorable, and the bars them-
! selves perfectly sound, it is believed that the
traffic which mils of ordinary (juality are capable
of bearing, will not fall short of the large figure
of twenty millions of tons.
united fleets of France and Spain attacked the ; Trade.—’nMi most material facis iu
impregnable fortress, one of the gigantic floating statistics of wool contained in the report of
batteries broke from her anchorage and bepn to Secretary of the Treasury are these; There
drift directly luto the hottest of the British nre. , ^ manufacturing establishments, with a
the crew of the - _
for those young men whose capital is di.spropor- ‘
tioned to their industry anJ integrity
The thou.sand men who formed
unwieldy mass vainly strovo to arrest its progress
or divert it from its path. Every minute it
drifted n*iurer to the English guns, every minute
some new part took lire from the red-hot shot,
every minute another score of its hapless defend
ers were swept like chaif from its decks. The
most superhuman efforts failed to prevent its
drifting with its human freight to inevitable death.
“A ship was wrecked at sea. The passengers
and crow took refuge on a raft, the boats having
boon stove in the attempt to launch them. For
days and weeks the.se unfortunates drifted about
without oar or sail on the hot broken tropical
ocean. At last their provisions failed, and then
their water. Still they drifted about vainly
looking for a sail or hoping for a sight of land.
The time had now come when that fearful alter
native became inevitable—death from starva
tion or feeding on human flesh, and they were
just begining to cast lots for a victim when a
vessel was seen on the distant horizon. They
abandoned their terrible design, the stranger
would approach. The ship came towards them;
she drew nearer and nearer. They strove to at
tract her attention by shouts and by raising their
clothing; but the indolent look-out saw them not.
They shouted louder and louder; still they were
not .ieen. At last the vessel tacked. With fran
tic terror they ro.se iu one body, shouting and
waving their garments. It was in vain; the un
conscious ship stood steadily away. Night drew
on, and as the darkness fell the raft drifted and
drifted in the other direction till the last trace of
the vessel w:w lost forever.
•*So it is in life. The intemperate man who
thinks he at least will never die a drunkard,
i whatever his neighbor may do, only wakes to find
himself drifting down the cataract, and all hope
j gone. The sensualist, who lives merely for his
I own,gratification, drifts into an ema.sculated old
age, to be tortured with passions he cannot
gratify and perish by merciless agonizing di.seases.
The undisciplined who never learned to control
themselves, who are spendthrifts, or passionate,
I or indolent, or visionary, soon make shipwreck
of themselves, and drift about the sea of life th«
I prey cf every wind and current, vainly shrieking
for help, till at last they drift away into darkness
■ and death.
“Take care that you are not drifting. See that
you have fast hold cf the helm. The breakers of
life forever roar under the lee, and adverse gales
continually blow on the shore. Are you watching
how she head.'? Do you keep a firm grip of the
wheel? If you give way but for one moment
you may drift helplessly into the boiling vortex.
Young men take carel It rests with yourself
alone, under God, whether you reach port
triumphantly or drift to ruin.”
capital of 828,11S,)50, .'ionsuming 70,80’2,8‘21>
pounds of wool. The value of the raw material
consumed was S‘2r),755,991. The number of
hands employeil was, males ‘2*2,HTS, females
10,574. The value of pr iducts in 1S40 was S20,-
in 1S50 ?t:},207,545; and the estimate
for 1S55 was 'ftio total produc
tion of wool iu l^no is estimated to be Gl,ot)0,-
370 pounds, valued at §2o,ol.>2,{U4. We im
ported and retained for home consumption 17,-
805,Till pounds of foreign wool, valued at Sl,-
940,000. It thus appears that the foreign wool
imported is valued at only about II cents per
pound, while the price of domestic wool is about
87 cents. The total consumption of wool in the
United States is thus estimated at 78,970,000.
iVew Year’s TaUes.—The prices of fruit, such
as are in demand at this sea.son of the year, are
rather more moderate than they were last year at
this time. Malaga grapes are from 75 cents to
?1 25 per pound, at retail; Isabella are .scarcer,
at from 37 j cents to 40. Oranges, very fine Ha
vana, range from 50 cents to SI per dozen. Figs,
both Smyrna and Naples, are uncommonly good
this year, and sell from 18 to 31 cents. Of pears
there are .scarcely any in market, except such as
are imoorted from France; 0’(’onnor & Howard,
in Wall street, imported forty cases of this de-
■scription, which are still as sound and fragrant
as when first packed, and .sell from Si 50 to §2
50 per dozen. Nuts of all kinds are about 0 cts.
per pound higher than last year.
1". Journal of Commerce.
Ilotc R'lilroii.^ Injure Farmers.—Not long I
since a farmer of our State was bitterly complain
ing of a railroad to one who was connected with
the management of the road. • “Why,” said the
farmer, “I was fool enough to take stock to the
amount of five hundred dollars, and I have lost
every cent of it. And besides, the cursed thing
runs through my farm.”
“And has greatly injured it, I suppo.se,” added
the other, smiling and looking the old farmer
full in the face.
“Injured iti” repeated the farmer. “To be
sure it has. Why do you ask such a foolish
question?”
“How much damages were you paid by the
corporation?” asked the other.
“In the neighborhood of six hundred dollars,”
the farmer replied, “But it was not half enough.”
“Of course not,” added the railroad man,
smiling.” “But permit me to ask you another
question. What could you have sold your farm
for a dozen years ivgo?”
“I was once offered twenty-five hundred dollars,
replied the farmer.
“And what can you sell it for now?” inquired
Prom Nerdboff’s “Whaling and Fishinp.”
IIIPPOPOTA.MUS HUNTING.
To cut a supply of woqd for a whaling cruise,
is a work requiring soihe days, ami often even
weeks, and it had been determined that the first,
and if need be the next day likewise, should be
devoted to a thorough inspection of the fat‘ilities
of the place, in order that we might work at as
little disadvantage as possible.
Consequently, we, the mate’s boat’s crew, had
been ordered to prepare forageti«ral cruisp. We
provided ourselves with a store of bread and beef,
tilled the boat’s breaker with water, spread our
sail to the light breeze, and pointed the boat’.s
I»ow towards tlie nearest i.slaiid. Landiui; liere
we found nought but a wildenicss of }ow jungle,
which was scarcely penetrable, together with a
poor landing. We examined three or four of the
islets, and having at last fixed upon a .suitable
place where to commence operatioiis, were about
to return on board, wlu^n the mate said,
“Trim aft, Tom, there’s a good breeze, fair
coming a.id going, and wc’ll tak(^ a look at the
main land.” Accordingly, tlie boat’s head was
laid shoreward, and we spread oui.->elves out at
full length upon the ttiwarts, enjoying an unusual
treat of some cigars which our chief offi.-er had
good-naturedly brought with him.
When within about a mile and a half of the
mainland, we found the water shoaling, being
then not more than three fathoms—eighteen feet
deep.
“I saw black skin glisten in the sun just then,”
said the boat steerer, who was aft, tlie mate hav
ing stretched himself upon the bow thwirts to
take a nap.
“It is nothing but a putJing pig,” said he
drowsily.
“There it is again, and no puffing pig either—
nor porpoise—nor—no,” saiil he, with some de
gree of animation, “nor anything else that wears
black skin that I ever saw before.
This had the effect of rousing us up, every
one casting his eyes ahead to catch a sight of
the (|uestionable “black skin.”
“There he blowsi”—“and there againi”—“and
over here too,” said several voices in succession.
“It aint no spout at all, boys, let’s pull and
see what it isl”
W e took to our oars, ami the boat was soon
darting forward at good speed toward the place
where we had last seen tlie ohjeiit of our curii>5ity.
“Stern alll” suddenly shouted the mate, as
the boat brought up “all standing” against some
o1)ject which we ha«l not been able to see on ac
count of rtie murkiiiess of the water, the collision
nearly throwing us upon our backs into the bot
tom of the boat. A> we backed off, an enormous
beast slowly raised his head above the water,
gave a loud snort, and incontinently dove down
j again, almost bvfore we could get a fair look at it.
j “What is it?” was now the question—which
. no one could answer.
INTERESTING STATISTICS.
The following interesting official table has been
communicated by the Secretary of the Treasury,
to aocompany his annual report of the finances:
Reaf ittitf / grsonaf Wealth of the United Stattx,
1 S5(I.
rftatt*.*!
.Vlabama,
Arkansas.
California,
(Connecticut,
Delaware,
Florida,
Georgia,
1 llinois,
Indiana,
Iowa,
Kentucky,
Louisiana.
.Maine,
.Maryland,
Massaciuistrtts,
.^Iichigau,
.^lississippi,
M i.ssouri.
New Hampshire.
New Jersey,
New York,
North ('arolina,
()hio,
I'ennsylvania,
[{hoile Island,
South Carolina,
'!'en nessee,
Texas,
Vermont,
\'irginia,
Wisc»nsin,
District of Jolumbia,
.^Iinnesota,
New Mexico,
Oregon,
Washington,
U ta h,
Kaiisis,
•Nebraska,
t’>I>uliition.
S35,192
253,117
385.000
401,2'.ti;
'.»7,21t.'>
110,725
935,)1m)
1.242,!H7
l,149,G0i)
325,013
1,080,587
t;00,3S7
023, S02
039,580
1,133,123
509.374
(»71,049
831,215
324,701
509,499
3,17»,05!>
921,M.52
2,215,750
2,542,900
100,927
705.001
1,0!^2,470
5UO,0()0
325,20f»
1,512,593
552,109
59.000
05,00(»
83,500
30.000
5,500
39.000
11.000
'1,500
Value of
property.
8270,233,027
04,240,7-26
105.000.000
203,759,831
30,4()0,924
49,401,461
500.000.000
333.237.474
301.858.474
110.000.000 j census
111.000.198
270.425.000
131,128,186
201,2 43,660
597,930,995
110,593,5S0
251.525.000
•223,94^,731
103.S04,32(
From the l^ilminffton Journal.
COAL AND IRON.
The Fayetteville OUerver of yesterday contaiu,
an editorial article calling attention to the
influence of coal and iron in promoting the irrowt!
and development of a State,' as shown fr,7m ,[/.
example of Pennsylvania, which of all thf Ti
States of the Atlantic Seaboard, alone holds lu'*
own, and actually gains upon her si.ster State
and this owing mainly to the development tf
her mineral resources. Previous to such devel
opment by the construction of canals and raj'
roads, to carry the products of the mines to inar
ket, Pennsylvania was retrograding in the .seal*
of States. New York had pa.saed her
rapidly increasing her distance; even tbe new
State of Ohio threatened to pass her at the n,>
Bur before the time for the takin» of
that census had arrived, the effect of the pu'Mio
improvements penetrating the minintr re.MoJ
begari to b^ felt; and, instead of decay and retro^
gression, progress became the order of the dav
The census of 185(» .‘.howed that Penn.^ylvani-,
had taken a fresh start and was not merely hold'
ing her own but gaining upon her rivals and com'
peers. With little foreign trade—little or uo lake
! trade—no trade“ with the.British Col
SUl’il
179,750,000 ; as Western New i\>rk enjoys, still Peun^ylvauii
,304,154,625 ; has actually, by virtue of her mineral'rcsoun*es*
239,(503,372 ; kept gaining upon the great and prosperous Fm’
‘-}^i ,.,.1...;... 1.,^
S60,S77,351
1,031,731,304
91,699,850
303,434,1^40
.•;-Jl,771,>lo
240,000,(too
91,!()5,0>)U
530,994,897
H7,5(»(»,000
25,56s,703
20,000.000
1.650.000
4.250.000
2,350,00»
1,235,644
Total,
Add for property not valued, for
under valuation.^, and for the
rise ill the value of property
since 1S50, the sum of
26,964,312 89,817,611,072
Total Wealth of the U. S., 1856, 11,317,611,072
Coh! Feet.—(^ild feet are the avenues to death
of multitudes every year; it is a sign of imperfect
circulation—of want of vigor of constitution. No
one can be well whose feet are habitually cold.
When the blood is equally distributed to every
part of the body there is generally good'health.
If there be less blood at one point there is a cold-
ne.ss; and not only so; there must be more than
pire State—gaining in relative wealth and popu-
! lation. Let us bear this in miud.
Some ardent believers ii.i the uiaguituje and
value of our deposits of coal and iron in the Deep
, River country, contend that they are superior to
, those of Pennsylvania. Of course, much of this
. must be conjecture. It is enough for u.-, to know
j that there are deposits there of a valuable cliar-
aoter, and to an extent which is practically uu-
i limited. Those best ac^uainted with such mat-
ters, say that these mines can be worked with
7,550,000 profit, provided an avenue to market he supplied
" ~75,000 and that the distance which the coal will Dave to
be tranj^ported to a point of .shipment, i.s not so
great as to form any insuperable ol.^tuc-le, unt
being as great as the Pennsylvania or .Maryland
deposits, now worked to advantage.
This i.s the state of the case. These dcpo>its
exist in North Carolina. They exist at a point
conveniently accessible to tide water. They arc-
awaiting development by means of slaekwitter or
railroad, or both. Will they be developed or
not? This is a question for the Legislature to
answer. Individuals are wot able to construct the
works without the additional assistance of th,>
Legislature.
So far as the River i> concerned, if properly
improved and fulfilliug the ends for which its
improvement is designed, it would wc think, be
preferable to a railroad, inasmuch as there would
be no loading or unloading between the original
point of shipment on the river, at the mines, and
the final shipment on board a sea-going vessel
bound for any northern or .southern port. U’e
I,500,000,00(»
“Whatever it is,” said the mate, whose wha
ling blood was up, “if it comes within reach of is natural at some part of the system; and there ! think that coal could bo carried at less*^rates per
my iron,d’ll make fast to it, lads—so pulj ahead.” is fover, that is unnatural heat or oppression. In ton on slackwater, and open river n ivirfition thaa
■ • ht ■' " ^ - ’ - - • "
evil which French looms weave for us?
• . , the other.
Col. Benton publishes a characteristic letter to 'pjjg fellow scratched his head; and, after some
Oh for the restoration of gingham and prints, i National Intelligencer, in which he repudiates hesitation, he confessed he had been offered
Is there no deliverance from the silken web of, word “lady,” alleged to have been employed : recently four thousand.
b^ him in his speech at the New England dinner : “Just as I expected,” was the reply of the
in this city. He says that he “did not say
ladies. That iconl is not in the Bible; nor is it
in any Greek or Roman book,” nor in his “Thirty
Years’ View.” A correspondent of the Wash
ington Star thus corrects the Colonel’s Bible
error:—
Mr. Benton, in the Intelligencer of this morn
ing says the world laily is not in the Bible. He '
is in error, as the following passages show:— made money out of the railroad, notwithstjindin
Judges 5: 29. Her wi.seanswered her. ' had lost five hundred dollars in his origina
E.'ther I; 18. Likewi.se shall tbe ladies of
Persia and .Medea say this day unto all the
king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of
the queen.
Isaiah 47: 5. Sit thou silent, and get thee
into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for
thou ishalt no more be called theof the king
dom.
Isaiah 17: 7. And thou .saidst I shall be a
forever.
2 John: 1. The elder unto the electand
A Good Anecdote.—During the inauguration of
Gen. Taylor, at Washington, D. C., March 4th,
1849, the police regulations, as usual, re()uired
that after the speech of the new President had
commenced, the gates of the Capitol Grounds
should be closed, and no carriage of any kind al
lowed to pass, until the speech was finished, to
prevent confusion.
The Minister of all the Ru.«sias, M. Bodii«co,
was very late, and after the speech had begun,
drove up to the gate in great haste, the horses
covered with foam, when the coachman shouted to
the guard, '•'■Open ze tjates iv you please.” The
guard shook his head and stood still. The foot
man next called out. “Will you open ze gate
for ze Russian Minister?” The guard again
shook his head, without answering a word.
Next, the grand Minister put his head out of the
carriage window and called to the guard: “Open
ze gates to ze gran Minister of all ze Russias,
Plenipotentiary, M. Bodisco; I am ze Minister.
other. “Now let us figure up a moment, if you
please. You have lost five hundred in the stock,
and have received for land damages the six
hundred, and the railroad has added to the price
of your farm, according to your own showing,
fifteen hundred so that you fairly owe the
Railroad sixteen hundred. Am I right.”
The farmer was c?irapelled to confess he had
There was a great crowd around tlie gates with- ! ^•''IJ^en, whom I love in the truth,
in and without, and all this fuss created nuite a ^ *“ -lohn: 5. And now beseech thee, lady, not
ai though I wrote a new commandment unto thee.
quite
stir. The guard drew himself up, and in a firm
and pleasant manner replied, '■'■If you were a i'n-,:.
born American citizen of thexe United .States of
Amirica, you could notpasu these jates in a car
riage.”
The crowd came very near giving three cheers
for the pard, but better manuers prevailed; and
M. Bodisco stepped out of his elegant equipage,
and entered the side gate with the sovereign peo
ple, his carriage remaining outside until °all the
ceremonies were over.
The^ew ()rleans Chief of Police has adopted
the plan of affixing placards upon the breasts and
backs of notorious thieves, burglars and pick
pockets, on which is printed, in large letters, the
nature of the offence for which they have been
convicted. They are then marched through the
streets, and made a public exhibition.
Girard Colhye.—Girard College, at Philadel
phia, now supports and educate.s regularly three
hundred and fifteen boys, all indigent orphans.
A member of the Lazy Club has just been ex
pelled for going at a faster gait than a walk. The
recusant offered, in mitigation of sentence, the
fact that the sheriff was after him, but the society
waa inexorable.
A FANTASY.
BY P. W. M.
Tis told somewhere in Eastern story
That those who Icve cuce bloom as flowers.
On the same stem, amid the glory
Of Eden’s green and fragrant bowers,
And that, though parted here by Fate,
\et when the glow of life has ended.
Each soul ugnin shall find its mate,
And in one bloom again be blended.
If this bt true, how sweet the vision
''hich Fancy sometimes weaves for me.
That thou, amid those bowers elysian,
My lovely flower mate will be:
And Oh: how oft, when time and distance,
Perchance, may part thee from my side,
Will I repine for that existence
Where Fate can ne’er our lives divide.
Capt. Samuel Somers, of 3Iill Cove, St. John’s
river, Florida, is one of the modest hunters, and
his friend and neighbor, K. ]}. Baker, vouchca
for one afternoon’s performance:
“His dog pretty so(m Htarti:l, and after follow
ing awhile he discovered two half-grown tigers
up a tree, which he shot and killed. Then h jk-
ing a little further on he perceived the old tigress
also uji a tree. To use his own expression, ‘she
looked lik^a cow.’ Being a hunter of undaunted
spirit, he advanced until the huge creature began
crouching, with gleaming eyes and bared teeth,
preparing to make a spring on him. At this
critical moment he discharged his piece, wound
ing her ba'lly in the head. She began a hurried
descent, uttering all the while the most awful
and terrific screams ho ever heard. When within
a few feet of the ground he lodged the contents
of a second barrel in her back, which ended her
further movements. He describes her screams
as resembling those of a terrified woman, only
much louder and shriller. He said they caused
his hair to stand on end. Having di.spatched
her, he pursued his dog, who was at this time
chasing the old male tiger. He came in sight of
him several times, but owing to some disadvan
tageous circumstances he would not shoot, fearing
he would only wound him, and in that case he
would lose his dog. and perhaps his own life.
He describes him as being much larger than the
tigress. As night was fast setting in, he went
home and returned in the mo-’ning, to take off
the skins of the slain. Beside them wa.^ the bed
of the old tiger, where he had spent the night
with his dead family. The tigress measured
eleveu feet six iucbes from the end of her tail to
the tip of her nose, and it is supposed would have
weighed from three to four hundred pounds.”
The best capital that a young man can start
with in life IS industry, with good sense, courage,
and the fear of God. They are better than cash,
credit, or friends.
stock. Thus it is, and what shall we .say of those
croaking farmers who never paid a cent for the
making of a road, and who.sc farms have been
nearly doubled in price and value by it. There
are hundred.s such and yet they are constantly
heaping curses on railroads and their management.
The above which we clip from a northern
cotemporary is alike apolicaLle in almost every
quarter of the country. It is well to look into
the mirror sometimes, and we advise the queru
lous anl fault finding to take a chance, and at least
rihk one eye on it.
“It is a fact,” says the Bombay Gazette, “that
the entire population of Hindostan does not aver
age sixpence a year for clothing."
Whut the Wiutl tSays.—“Do you know what
the December wind says, grandpa?” asked a little
child at an old merchant’s knee.
“No, puss; what does it?” he answered, strok
ing her fair hair.
“ ‘Remember the poorl’ grandpa, when it comes
down the chimney, it roars; ‘Remember the poor’
when it puts its great mouth to the key-hole, it
whistles; ‘Remember the poor!’ whan it strides
through a crack in the door, it tchispers; and,
grandpa, when it blows your beautiful silver hair
in the street, and you shiver and button up your
coat, does it not get at your ear, and say so too,
in a still small voice, grandpa?”
“Why, what does the child mean?” cried
grandpa, who, I am afraid, had been u.sed to
shut his heart against such words, “You want a
new muff and tippet, I reckon; a pretty way to
get them out of your old grandfather.”
“No, grandpa,” said the child earnestly,
shaking her head; ‘fno; its the no muff and tippet
children I’m thinking of; my mother iilways re
members them, and so do I try.”
After the next storm, the old merchant sent
fifteen dollars to the treasurer of a relief society,
and said, Call for more when you want it. The
treasurer started with surprise, foi it was the first
time he had ever collected more than a dollar
from him, and that he thought came grudgingly.
“Why,” said the rich old merchant, afterwards,
“I could never get rid of that child’s words; they
stuck to me like glue."
“And a little child shall lead them," says the
Scripture. How many a cold heart has melted,
and a closed heart opened by the simple earnest
ness and suggestive words of a child.
A fast young Mississippi gentleman went to
Cincinnati with $6000, where he was fleeced at a
gambling hell, of every dollar, gold watch, &c.
The matter is to be investigaled, and excites inte
rest, as there are several well-known personages
who will be summoned us witnesses, one of whom
is an offiial functionary.
An enterprising but ignorant South American
has sent to a locomotive shop in Albany for one
hundred “cow-catchers." He expects to use them
in taking wild cattle on the plains of Paraguay,
in plaoe of tbe lasso.
i We were again under headway, ktv.^.iug a bri
, lookout for the appearance of the stranger.
“There thoy are, a whole .sch.iol,” >aid the
mute, oagorly, p miting in shore, where the glis-
i tening of white water showed that a number of
I the nondescripts ware cvideiitl}- enjoying them-
) selves. “Now, boy.s, pull hard, and we’ll .soon try
their mettle.”
I “There’s something broke water, just ahead.”
said the boat-steerer.
“Pull easy, lads—I see him—there—way
: enough—there’s his buck! —
j “Stern all!” shouted he, a.s he darted his iron
; into a back as broad as a small sperm whale’s.
I “Stern all!—back water—back water, every
man!” and the infuriated beast made desperate
lunges in every direction, making the white-
water fly almost equal to a whale.
We could not see the whole shape of the crea
ture, as iu his agony and surprise, he raised him-
!elf high above the surface. We all recognized
at once the Hippopotamus, as he is represented
iu books of natural hi.'tory.
(_)ur subject .soon got a little cooler, and giving
a savage roar, bent his head round until he
grasped the shank of the iron between his teeth.
With one jerk he drew it out of his bleeding
quarter, and shaking it savagely, dove down to
the bottom. The water was here but about two
fathoms deep, and we could see the direction iu
which he was travelling along the bottom, bv a
line of blood, as well as by the air bubbles which
rose to the surface a.s he breathed.
“(Jive me another iron, C’harley, and we’ll not
give him a chance to pull it out next time.”
The iron was handed jp, and* we slowly sailed
in the direction which our prize was following
along the bottom.
“Here’s two or three of them a.steru of us,” !
said the boat-steerer.
the cases of cold feet, the amount of blood want- it could on any road. But we muy be mistaken
ing there, collects at some other part of the body and ttiere are certainly advantages connected with
which happens to be weakest, to be least able to a railroad which cannot be claimed for any inland
throw u barricade against the in-rushing enemy, navigation.
Hence, when the lungs are weakest the blood ^ There are undoubtedly advantages and disad-
gathers there in the shape of a common cold, or vautages connected with either project the River
often spitting blood. improvement or the Railroad. Both wiil, in ow
Clergymen, other public speakers, and singers, opinion, be eventually built and will then pay.
by improper exposure, often render the throat The Reading Railroad and the Schuylkill Canal
the weakest part; to such, cold feet give hoarse- Company, are both taxed to their utmost capacity
ness, or a raw, burning feeling, most felt at the to bring down the coal of the Schuylkill region,
bottom of the neck. To others again, whose and both these works are enormous in their own
bowels a.e weak from over-eating, or drinking way. The Navigation labors under the disad-
spiritous liquors, cold feet give various degrees vantage of being closed part of the year by ice,
of derangement, from common looseness up to a disadvantage to which our work would not be
the diarrhea or dysentery; and so we might go
through the whole body; but for the present this
is sufficient for illu.stratioG.
If you are well, let yourself alone. But to
those whose feet are inclined to be cold, we sug
gest:
As soon as you get up in the mon^hg put both
feet in a basin of cold water, so as to come half
way to the ankles; keep them in half a minute,
rubbing vigorously; wipe them dry, and hold them
to the tire, if convenient, in cold weather, till
every part of you feels as dry as your hand; then
put on your socks or stockings.
On going to bed at night draw off your stock
ings, and hold your feet to the fire ten or fifteen
minutes, till perfectly dry, and go to bed. This
IS a most pleasing operation, and fully repays for
the trouble of it. No one can sleep well or
refreshingly with cold feet. All Indians and
hunters sleep with their feet to tbe fire.
Wear woolen, cotton, or silk stockings, which
ever keeps the feet most comfortable; do not let the
experience of another be your guide, for different
persons require different articles; what is good
j for a persou whose feet are naturally damp, cannot
Just then two more rose, one on either side of' he good for one whose feet are dry.
the boat, and in rather unplea.sant proximity, and
before we had begun to realize our situation the
wounded beast, unable any longer to stay beneath
the surface, came up to breathe just ahead.
“Pull ahead a little; let’s get out of this snarl.
Lay the bout around—.so—now, stern all,” and
the iron was planted deep in the neck of our vic
tim. With a roar loudor than a dozen of the
wild bulls of .^ladagascar, the now maddened beast
made for the boat.
“Back water!—back, I say! Take down this
boatsail, and stern all! Stern, for your lives,
men!” as two more appeared by the bows, evi
dently prepared to assist their comrade. He was
making the water fly in all directions, and having
failed to reach the boat, was now vainly e.ssayini'
to grasp the iron, which the mate had purpose'y
put into his short neck, so close to his head that
h« could not get it iu his mouth.
“Stick out line till we get clear of the school,
and then we’ll pull up on the other side of this
fellow and soon settle him with a lance.”
This was done, and as we again hauled upon
the still furious beast, the mate poised his bright
lance for a moment, then sent it deep into his
heart. W'ith a tremendous roar, and a despe
rate final struggle, of scarcely a minute’s dura
tion, our prize gave up the ghost, and after sink
ing for a moment, rose again to the surface lyint
upon his side just as does the whale when dead!
His companions had left us, and we now, giving
three cheers for our victory, towed the carcass to
the not far distant shore. It was luckily high
tide; atid we got the body up to high water mark,
where the speedily receding waves left it ashore.
W'hen we here viewed the giant, and thought of
the singular agility he had displayed in the water,
we could not help acknowledging to one another
that to get among a school ot Hippopotami would
be rather a desperate game.
An exchange in puffing a soap, says it is the
“best ever tised for cleaning a dirty man’s face', we
have tried it, therefore we know."
This is hardly as pointed as the hit of Dean
Swift’s “Stella," who when a gentleman lamented
his inability to keep clean finger nails, naively sug
gested: “He was in the habit of scratchina
himself:' ^
Hall’s Journal ot Health.
A Chns*mas Gif'. — Hon. David Prentiss of
Utica, N. Y., uow nearly 70 years of age, was
the tutor of cx-Governor Seymour, Hon. Ward
subject.
W e cannot but think that the especial friends
of the Railroad or the Navigation will commit a
great mistake if they permit themselves to be
drawn into a positiou of antagonism, or be per-
J suaded to run the schemes against each other as
hostile and conflicting projects. No good to
either, but much evil to both must be the result
of such mistaken policy. Therefore do we sin
cerely trust that no such policy will be adopted
We trust that we will not be understood as un
friendly to the railroad, or inclined to strike a
sideblow at it, when we say that, although we
desire the success of the road as well as of the
navigation, yet if we felt that one or the other must
be given up, and it depended upon us to say
which one that should be, we would go for giving
up the road r.ither than the river, if for no other
reason, for the sutfijient one that both State in
terest and State priile are interested in the river
project. The State is already in so far that she
cannot recede without loss. Her credit is involved
in putting through this work, as it would certain
ly be humilating for the State of North Carolina to
be forced to let a company from another section
of the Union take a great State work out of her
hands, she having b’gun it. VV'e don’t believe
anybody would like this work to be sold out of the
hands of the State; and that must be the conse
quence unless the Legislature comes to the rescue.
old gentlemau’s Christmas.
That was a fearful prayer of the infidel sailor
in danger of shipwreck: “O God, if there be a
God, save my soul, if I have a soul!” But there
is sublimity and beauty in that of the soldier, on
the eve of battle: “O God, if in the day of battle
I forget thee, do not thou forget me!"
Hunt, au,l others who have reached high public . « have before said, has bci-D
honors. His old pupils have not forgotten him. ' ‘’J “ piddlnig hand to-moath pohcy. The
They mate up an Lnual holiday gift for his '“5*“ about enough
beneat of S500 each. Five of these gentlemen I 1^if 1 n 1 ^
made tip in this way a purse of 82,.500 for the ' , "“r'l
everything from the first done on a proper solid
foundation from the first as it must be at the last,
we believe that the work would now be paying the
interest on the State debt contracted for building
it, as well as affording a fair return to individual
stockholders, to say nothing of the great benefits
it would be conferring upon the State. The er
rors of the past are t.ie results of inexperience.
States, companies, and individuals have, in most
cases, to buy knowledge, and pay pretty dear for
it too. All hands in this case, have had to do
so. It is certainly better to make use of this dearly
bought experience than to spend time in crimina
tions and recriminations. Above all it is desira
ble not to fall again into the errors of the past.
Half doing anything is worse than not doing it at
all. If the Legislature grants aid to this work it
will be the dictate of wisdom and true economy to
find out the full amount necessary to do it icfll,
thorowjhly and at once, or not at all. This we
think all will admit. We think it will j^ay to
do so. We have no doubt of it.
A Heavy Shave.—It is testified to in the trial of
Huntingdon, by a bookkeeper of a firm who was
in the practice of accommodating him wth loans for
the purpose of shaving notes, that to one of these
firms he paid sometimes, for sums of five or ten
thousand dollars, one per cent, a day, saying that
it was half what he made. It is no wonder that
so many failures occur in New York. Men who
borrow at such rates certainly never intend to
pay their debts.
Handsome N^ew 1 ear’s Hresent.—George Hall,
Lsq., the out-going Mayor of Brooklyn, was on
yesterday presented with a handsome house and
lot, which cost SI 1,000, as a New Year’s present.
It was given by the citizens in con.sideration of
the services rendered by Mr. Hall during the
prevalence of the Yellow Fever last summer at
Brooklyn.
Nothin(j like System.~^‘Awl Pummel!, what
do I owe you?” ’
“Oh! not much, sir. Its of no consequence.”
“Aw! x\o! But I think of taking the benefit of
the Act about Christmas; and, as a man of sys
tem, I am very particular about exact amounts."
OH, NEVER LET AN UNKIND WORD.
Oh, never let an unkind word
Fall from those lips of thine,
For harshness serves but to divide
Love’s golden chain divine;
And as the rose wbea once ’tis pluck’d.
We never can restore:
So the fond heart, thus sidlj crushed
Will cling to us no more.
We often kill earth’s fairest flowers
By some unkind neglect,
Then waste our time In uselesj teirs
For what we might expect;
Oh, sweeter far to gaze upon
The faces of the deal,
Than upon those dark sombre fouls.
From whom all love has fled.
There is too much point to be popular in this
EPIGR.\M BV LA .MONNOVE
The world of fools has such a store,
That he who would not sea an ass, ■*
Must bide at home, and bolt his door,
And break his looking-glass.
But the following will have many to testify to it»
truth, poor fellows;
’Tis an excellent world that we live in,
To lend, to spend, or to give in;
But to borrow, or beg, or get a man’s own,
’Tis just the worst world that ever was known.
CIGARS! CIGARS!!
A FEW FINE BRANDS just received and for sale
by J. N. SMITH, Druggist.
Jan’y 6, 1857. 70-lmi
K. M. MURCHISON. A. J. HOWiiU.
MURCHISON v HOWELL,
Commission Merchants,
No. 104 WALL STREET,
59-itf j YORK.